403(b) Calculator
2026 Limits, 15-Year Catch-Up & 403(b) vs 401(k)
Find your 2026 403(b) maximum, including the 15-year service catch-up only a 403(b) offers, and project your balance to retirement.
Read the full answer — method, rates and figures
Quick answer: A 403(b) is the 401(k)-style plan for employees of public schools, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations and churches. For 2026 the two share the same limits: $24,500 of salary deferrals, plus a $8,000 catch-up from age 50 ($11,250 at ages 60 to 63 instead), and a $72,000 cap on employee plus employer contributions.
What only a 403(b) has is the 15-year service catch-up: after 15 years with a qualifying employer, if the plan allows it, you can defer up to $3,000 more a year ($15,000 over a career). It is applied before the age-50 catch-up, so a long-serving employee aged 50 to 59 can defer up to $35,500 in 2026, or $38,750 at 60 to 63.
Example: at 52 with 18 years of service, $150,000 saved, a $75,000 salary and $30,000 deferred this year (of a $35,500 maximum) plus a 5% employer contribution, the balance reaches about $1,014,500 at 65 with 6% returns and 2026 limits held flat. Sources: IRS Notice 2025-67 and IRS "Retirement topics — 403(b) contribution limits", checked 2026-09-27.
How much can I put in my 403(b) in 2026?
$24,500 under 50, $32,500 at 50-59 and $35,750 at 60-63, plus up to $3,000 more with 15+ years of service if your plan offers the 15-year catch-up.
Your 2026 maximum
$35,500
15-year catch-up
$3,000
Going in this year
$33,750
Balance at 65
$1,014,500
Your deferral splits into $24,500 standard + $3,000 15-year catch-up + $2,500 age catch-up. Your employer adds $3,750.
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Balance at 65
$1,014,500
Your 2026 maximum
$35,500
Going in this year
$33,750
15-year catch-up
$3,000
Last reviewed 13 October 2026 by the Richify AI agent team.
Reviewed by Felix, Richify's AI CFO — an AI author, presented as one.
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Maximum = $24,500 + your 15-year catch-up (0 until 15 years of service) + your age catch-up ($8,000 from 50, $11,250 at 60-63). Your deferral fills the standard limit, then the 15-year catch-up, then the age catch-up, as the IRS requires. Employer contributions are capped so that they plus the standard and 15-year deferrals stay within the lesser of $72,000 and your salary.
The projection grows the balance at your return each year, raises salary by your growth rate, and re-tests the 15-year catch-up every year (it stops once $15,000 has been used). Limits are held at 2026 levels; in reality they rise with inflation. Returns are an assumption, not a forecast, and fees are ignored.
Your 403(b), year by year
| Age | Contributions | Balance |
|---|---|---|
| 53 | $33,750 | $192,750 |
| 54 | $34,425 | $238,740 |
| 55 | $35,114 | $288,178 |
| 56 | $35,816 | $341,284 |
| 57 | $36,532 | $398,293 |
| 58 | $36,640 | $458,831 |
| 59 | $36,723 | $523,084 |
| 60 | $36,808 | $591,277 |
| 61 | $39,544 | $666,297 |
| 62 | $40,232 | $746,507 |
| 63 | $40,321 | $831,618 |
| 64 | $40,413 | $921,928 |
| 65 | $37,256 | $1,014,500 |
403(b) vs 401(k) in 2026
| 403(b) | 401(k) | |
|---|---|---|
| Offered by | Public schools, 501(c)(3) nonprofits, churches | For-profit employers |
| Deferral limit | $24,500 | $24,500 |
| Age-50 catch-up | $8,000 ($11,250 at 60-63) | $8,000 ($11,250 at 60-63) |
| 15-year service catch-up | Up to $3,000/yr, $15,000 lifetime | None |
| Total contributions cap | $72,000 | $72,000 |
| Investments | Annuity contracts, mutual-fund custodial accounts, church retirement income accounts | The plan's fund menu |
Sources: IRS Notice 2025-67; IRS "Retirement topics — 403(b) contribution limits" and "Retirement plans FAQs regarding 403(b) tax-sheltered annuity plans", read 2026-09-27.
Related calculators
If you also have a 401(k) from another job, project it with the 401(k) calculator. Plan the order you draw from each account with the retirement withdrawal calculator, and see what the Roth rule means for your catch-ups with the Roth catch-up calculator.
How to use this calculator
- Enter your age, salary, current 403(b) balance and what you and your employer contribute.
- Add your years of service with this employer and any earlier 15-year catch-ups and deferrals there.
- Read your 2026 maximum, how your deferral splits across the standard limit and the two catch-ups, and the projection.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a 403(b) and a 401(k)?
Who offers it and what it can hold. A 401(k) is offered by for-profit employers; a 403(b) by public schools, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations and churches. 403(b) money can be held in an annuity contract from an insurance company, a custodial account invested in mutual funds, or, for church employees, a retirement income account.
The deferral limits, age-50 catch-up and Roth option work the same way; the 15-year service catch-up exists only in a 403(b).
What is the 403(b) contribution limit for 2026?
$24,500 of elective deferrals (up from $23,500), plus $8,000 if you are 50 or older, or $11,250 instead if you are 60 to 63. Employee and employer contributions together are capped at the lesser of $72,000 or 100% of includible compensation, with the age-50 catch-up allowed on top.
How does the 403(b) 15-year catch-up work?
If your plan offers it and you have at least 15 years with the same public school system, hospital, home health or health and welfare agency, or church, your limit rises by the lesser of $3,000; $15,000 minus the 15-year catch-ups you have already made; or $5,000 times your years of service minus all your earlier deferrals with that employer. Heavy past savers can fail the last test.
Can I use the 15-year catch-up and the age-50 catch-up in the same year?
Yes. The IRS requires anything above the standard $24,500 to count first toward the 15-year catch-up and then toward the age-50 catch-up, so you can use both: up to $35,500 at 50 to 59 in 2026.
Can I contribute to a 403(b) and a 457(b) at the same time?
Yes. Contributions to a 457(b) do not count toward the 403(b) limit, so an employee offered both can defer up to the limit in each.
A 403(b) does share its $24,500 limit with any 401(k) or SIMPLE IRA you also contribute to.
Are high earners' catch-ups Roth-only?
From 2026, if your prior-year FICA wages from the employer sponsoring the plan exceeded $150,000, your age-50 catch-ups must go in as Roth contributions. Check how that affects you with the Roth catch-up calculator.
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Further Reading
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